Birds
Atlantic Petrel
Pterodroma incerta
Breeding almost entirely on a single South Atlantic island where introduced house mice have evolved into unusually large, aggressive predators, an Atlantic petrel now faces one of the most severe invasive-species crises documented for any seabird.
Overview
The Atlantic petrel, Pterodroma incerta, is an Endangered seabird native to ocean and grassland habitat across the South Atlantic, breeding almost entirely on Gough Island. Its extreme concentration on a single breeding site, its vulnerability to unusually large introduced mice, and its status as a focus of ongoing conservation concern make it one of the most urgently threatened gadfly petrels found anywhere in the world.
When an island’s mice become the threat
Introduced decades ago, house mice on Gough Island have grown far larger than typical and turned to attacking seabird chicks directly in their burrows, a threat that now endangers the Atlantic petrel precisely because the species has nowhere else to breed in comparable numbers.
Status
Endangered, with populations concentrated almost entirely on Gough Island and declining due to predation from introduced house mice.
Atlantic Petrel: common questions
Why is the Atlantic petrel considered so vulnerable?
This species breeds almost entirely on Gough Island, concentrating its global population in one place where introduced house mice have evolved into unusually large, aggressive predators of chicks.
How do introduced mice threaten the Atlantic petrel?
This species faces predation from introduced house mice that have evolved unusually large body size on Gough Island, attacking chicks directly inside their nesting burrows, often while adults are away foraging.
Where does the Atlantic petrel breed?
This species breeds almost entirely on Gough Island, with only a small number of pairs found on a neighbouring island in the South Atlantic.
What does the Atlantic petrel look like?
This species is a relatively large gadfly petrel with mostly dark brown plumage overall, offering little of the sharp contrast pattern seen in some related petrel species.